Sites on the World Wide Web (WWW) provide services to people using browsers and other applications on their devices, such as personal computers, smart phones, and tablets. Services that are provided include news, social communication, ecommerce, general knowledge, retail sales, and so forth. To utilize a service, a person uses an electronic device to make a request to a website for some item of information. The website returns the requested information item to the electronic device of the person.
In an example ecommerce scenario, a person requests information about a product, such as a blender, from a retail website. The retail website sends information about the blender back to the requesting device of the person. The information may include images, specifications, reviews, and a cost for the blender. If the person does not decide to purchase the blender, the person leaves the retail website. In such a case, the retail website loses a sale.
In an example news scenario, a person requests information about a news event, such as flooding, from a news website. The news website serves a webpage about the flooding event to the requesting device of the person. The webpage may include a slideshow and text descriptive of the extent and repercussions of the flooding. If the person does not request another webpage from the news website, the news website loses the opportunity to continue engaging with, and presenting advertisements to, the person.
Companies would prefer to retain the interest of people visiting their websites to make sales and to continue to serve advertisements. But if a person's needs or wants are not being met by a website, the person will abandon the website and possibly switch to a competitor's website.